1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to controlling access to an area, and, more particularly, to a system and method for granting access to a restricted access area using an access card and an approved list.
2. Description of the Related Art
Access cards can be used to control access to certain locations, such as a railway system, a bus, other transportation systems, a building, a secure area, etc. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,828,044, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety, discloses the use of a “non-contacting type radio frequency recognizing credit card” that may be used in an automated transit fare collection system. According to this patent, the user of the card presents the card to a card terminal that activates the card by transmitting radio waves to the card. The activated card then transmits its card number to the card terminal, which then transmits the card number to a terminal computer. The terminal computer compares the card number to a so-called “blacklist” of cards. If the card number is not on the blacklist, access is granted. If the card number is on the blacklist, access is denied.